NAIA Football Players of the Week - No. 3

Bryan, Dolph and Gimzo receive NAIA football weekly honors.

September 17, 2012

By Alan Grosbach, Manager of Communications and Sports Information

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - James Bryan of Belhaven (Miss.) has been named the NAIA National Football Special Teams Player of the Week, Zach Dolph of Saint Xavier (Ill.) has been tabbed National Football Defensive Player of the Week and Shane Gimzo of Ottawa (Kan.) received National Football Offensive Player of the Week honors, the national office announced Monday. Bryan, Dolph and Gimzo were chosen for their performances during the week of Sept. 10 - 15 and were selected out of a pool of conference and independent award winners.

Bryan, a senior placekicker from Saucier, Miss., connected on three field goals and three PATs, including a career-long 51 yarder, in Belhaven's 36-30 loss to then-No. 25 Cumberland (Tenn.) on Sept. 15. His other two field goal makes were from 41 and 37 yards. In addition to kicking duties, Bryan punted three times for 126 yards (42.0 average), including a game-long 43 yarder.

Bryan ranks amongst the top 10 in the NAIA in punt yards per attempt (46.8), field goals per game (1.3) and total field goals (4).

Dolph, a junior linebacker from Crest Hill, Ill., tallied a season-best 14 total tackles, including eight solo stops, five tackles-for-loss and three sacks in Saint Xavier's 37-7 rout of Langston (Okla.) on Sept. 15. He also added a forced fumble and pass break-up in the effort. Overall, the Cougar defense held Langston to only 139 yards of total offense and forced four turnovers.

Dolph leads the team with 32 tackles and ranks fifth in the NAIA in tackles-for-loss (7.5) and eighth in sacks (3.0).

Gimzo, a senior from Perry, Kan., tied a program record with five rushing touchdowns as Ottawa (Kan.) defeated Saint Mary (Kan.), 50-42, in Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference action. Additionally, Gimzo's 32 points (five touchdowns, one 2-point conversion) snapped an Ottawa football single-game scoring record - previously held by Herb Sutton (27 points) - that had stood for 52 years. Overall, the dual-threat quarterback rushed for a career-high 149 yards on 27 attempts, while completing 9-of-13 passes for 76 yards.

Gimzo leads the NAIA in scoring with 44 points this season, while ranking fifth nationally in rushing (347) and rushing yards per game (115.7).

For a complete listing of all the national statistical leaders, click here.

For the complete NAIA Player of the Week calendar, click here. The next NAIA National Football Players of the Week will be announced on Sept. 24.